


客氣 | courtesy

by virdant



Series: 吃飽了嗎? | Have you eaten your fill? [9]
Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Canon shows that the Jedi retain ties to their home planets and cultures, Food, Food as a Metaphor for Love, Friendship, Gen, Jedi, Jedi Culture, Jedi Culture Respected
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:55:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26312254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/virdant/pseuds/virdant
Summary: Obi-Wan grew up in the Temple. The foundation of all of his knowledge begins in the creche, in lessons from creche masters and then Archivists and Knights and Masters. And before he takes his first class, he learns at the table, with the other initiates as they eat Alderaan stew for dinner, vegetable soup from Tibrin, fried Nuna legs from Phindar.Qui-Gon doesn’t mind when Obi-Wan starts spending more time in their shared kitchen, squinting at recipes on the holonet and requesting supplies from Stores. He gets to eat all of Obi-Wan’s attempts, and he does so manfully, even when they turn out burnt or bitter. Obi-Wan works through the Inner Core, the Mid Rim, the Outer Rim, and even Hutt Space, bent over their small stove. With each course that Obi-Wan takes, he adds dozens of new dishes to his repertoire. But the triumph is the first time Obi-Wan hosts latemeal, bearing Bant’s favorite algae soup out on platters, and Bant’s wide-eyed delight.--Obi-Wan learns about the galaxy, so he can always feed his friends the food of their homeworlds.
Relationships: Bant Eerin & Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Luminara Unduli, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Quinlan Vos
Series: 吃飽了嗎? | Have you eaten your fill? [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1832875
Comments: 15
Kudos: 218





	客氣 | courtesy

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Dinner and an Essay](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26312506) by [virdant](https://archiveofourown.org/users/virdant/pseuds/virdant). 



> the file is titled "obi-wan feeds his pals okay" and that really articulates what this story is about.
> 
> posting this because it's positivity weekend over at the jedi appreciation discord, so here is some jedi positivity. :)
> 
> \--
> 
> 客氣 (ke-qi) courtesy, from the words 客 (ke), guest, and 氣 (qi) air

Obi-Wan takes the full curriculum for Galactic Cultures and Histories. He’s Qui-Gon Jinn’s padawan, so it is expected that he be knowledgeable, with how often they’re sent out into the field. But no padawan is required to take every course; Obi-Wan does. He signs up for the mandatory classes first: Introduction to Mid-Rim cultures, Post-Reformation Core Histories, A General Guide to Outer-Rim cultures… but the course list goes on and on, beyond requirements and recommended courses for padawans undergoing diplomatic missions.

Obi-Wan takes all of them.

Obi-Wan grew up in the Temple. The foundation of all of his knowledge begins in the creche, in lessons from creche masters and then Archivists and Knights and Masters. And before he takes his first class, he learns at the table, with the other initiates as they eat Alderaan stew for dinner, vegetable soup from Tibrin, fried Nuna legs from Phindar. 

He is an initiate when he sees when Bant’s eyes blink in delight when there’s Mon Cala algae soup among the midmeal offerings, and he settles that knowledge into his heart in memory.

He is a padawan when they learn about Mon Cala cuisine in Aquatic Cultures of the Outer Rim, and he pays attention to how they prepare their meals. When Quinlan comes back from a mission gushing about Alderaanian sweetcakes, he spends extra hours in Galactic Core Politics scribbling notes about the role of gifts of food and sweetcakes in political negotiations.

Qui-Gon doesn’t mind when Obi-Wan starts spending more time in their shared kitchen, squinting at recipes on the holonet and requesting supplies from Stores. He gets to eat all of Obi-Wan’s attempts, and he does so manfully, even when they turn out burnt or bitter. Obi-Wan works through the Inner Core, the Mid Rim, the Outer Rim, and even Hutt Space, bent over their small stove. With each course that Obi-Wan takes, he adds dozens of new dishes to his repertoire. But the triumph is the first time Obi-Wan hosts latemeal, bearing Bant’s favorite algae soup out on platters, and Bant’s wide-eyed delight.

It becomes a habit, then. Luminara takes the time to teach Obi-Wan the tricks of preparing her favorite Mirilan dishes, the precise means of cleaning and cutting meat. Reeft sends Obi-Wan recipes from the Holonet of all of his favorite Dressellian foods. Quinlan nags Obi-Wan for Alderaanian sweetcakes and Kiffar breads. Qui-Gon hosts dozens and dozens of latemeals in their quarters, and Obi-Wan cooks, and cooks, and cooks.

* * *

Quinlan takes to showing up at Obi-Wan’s quarters after every one of his missions.

The first time they’re still padawans, and Obi-Wan’s quarters are also Qui-Gon’s. Quinlan’s just finished a mission with Master Tholme to Jiroch; it was a long mission, and Quinlan returns with a giant bruise on his back and a sachet of local spices for Obi-Wan next group latemeal. Obi-Wan’s delight practically radiates through the kitchen as he immediately disappears to sort through the package.

Qui-Gon smiles at Quinlan, still standing in the entryway, “I suppose we’ll be hosting latemeal tonight. Will you invite the others?”

Quinlan grins back. A quick glance towards the kitchen shows that Obi-Wan is already making a list of what to pick up from Stores. “Sure,” he says, and then leaves to do exactly that, rounding up their creche mates, the masters that Master Jinn likes to spar with, and Master Yoda when they pass by in the hallways.

That is the first time, but Quinlan finds it becoming a habit. His missions are long drawn-out events, and it’s easy to stop by a market to pick up some local spices, or a sachet of dried herbs, to bring back to Obi-Wan for him to cook with.

* * *

When Anakin becomes his padawan, Obi-Wan takes to the kitchen. He teaches Anakin how to meditate, teaches him saber forms, teaches him everything he needs to know to be a good Jedi. 

Anakin dreams of seeing all of the stars, but Obi-Wan cannot take him from the temple—not right now, untrained as he is. So he tries to bring the galaxy to Anakin: he points out the different dishes in the refectory, where they come from, what cultures prefer them. He cooks in the kitchen, remembering the years as he worked through every course that the Temple offered for Galactic Cultures and Histories.

Quinlan shows up after every mission with a sachet from the planet he just visited, tossing it to Obi-Wan with familiar expectation, and Obi-Wan cooks and cooks. Every planet that Quinlan visits, he can bring a piece of it to Anakin to tide him over until Anakin can visit it himself.

Anakin’s nose wrinkles. “Why do you always let him boss you around?”

Obi-Wan thinks of so many latemeals hosted here, in these same quarters. He thinks of Bant’s pleased smile, of Luminara’s patient instruction, of Quinlan’s steady presence.

“A Jedi’s place is to serve,” he says, and the words suffuse him, steady him.

Anakin’s brow furrows, as it does when Obi-Wan recites maxims at him. “So you cook for him because that makes you more Jedi?”

He searches for the words, even as he sorts through Quinlan’s latest package, goes over familiar recipes from Delphon. “Quinlan brings me local spices because he knows I enjoy learning about different cultures,” he says. “I cook for them because…”

Because it had been a small way to bring a smile to Bant’s face. Because it had been a way to put his knowledge into practice. Because it had been a habit, to sit down with his friends and family, to know that they were full as a result of his labor. The longer he had been a padawan, the more he had taken joy in the simple act of seeing his family settled and happy. The more he cooked and served, the more he saw how much the simple act of a meal could settle the most tumultuous emotions.

“To be full is a wonderful thing,” Obi-Wan says.

Anakin’s brow remains furrowed, but he does not say anything else.

The next day, Obi-Wan returns to the kitchen and he pours over all that he knows about the Outer Rim, all that he knows of Hutt Space, but he does not know what Anakin ate, on Tatooine. Anakin hoards his past; when Obi-Wan asks him about it, his lips press tight and he refuses to talk about it.

There are Jedi who do not look to the planets that they came from. For all that Anakin came late to the temple, he seems to be turning into one of those Jedi, refusing to talk about his past—as a slave, as a child of Tatooine.

Instead, Obi-Wan turns back to all the stars of the galaxy—Anakin no longer is tied to Tatooine. He has the galaxy before him, and Obi-Wan will give him that.

* * *

There is no requirement that draws Obi-Wan into the kitchen, just the sight of his friends, bright and beaming, warm and full, and the knowledge that he was able to offer them this comfort. He cooks Mon Cala cuisine for Bant, learns Luminara’s favorite dishes, reads and learns how to cook food from across the galaxy for every time Quinlan returns from a mission. Garen, whenever he is in the temple, stops by to wrangle a meal out of Obi-Wan. Reeft and Siri join Quinlan’s post-mission-inspired latemeals whenever they’re in the temple.

He learned his first lessons in the Temple—in the creche, as a youngling—and he does not forget them.

The Jedi serve the galaxy. Not just the planets in the Core, not just the Republic planets of the Mid-Rim, but every planet in the galaxy. Every one of them, orbiting their bright stars, with their own cultures and traditions, with their own people. When the Jedi walk in the galaxy, their place is to listen first, to speak second.

Obi-Wan listens—not just with his ears, not just with the Force, but with everything he has learned: with his hands, following their traditions as they serve, with his nose, as he breathes their air, and with his tongue, as he tastes the food that nourishes them.

Obi-Wan listens as he was taught to. He listens as a Jedi, who has pressed all the knowledge he could muster into him so that he may understand their language. He listens to language, to culture, to traditions, to the taste of shared food and the warmth of a good meal. He listens and listens and listens—

So that when he speaks, he may be fluent in this tongue.

**Author's Note:**

> this was one of the first food fics i planned; and, it seems fitting to end the food fics on this note. this is not to say that there will not be more, but i have written the food fics i wanted to write. however! this is also only one iteration of this story. i have written two stories with the same basis, because when we take ideas and write them, we bring our own experiences to them, and i feel very strongly that there is no reason to be tied to one interpretation of an idea. in that regard, i wanted to take the same idea and write them two very different ways, as a reminder that in fandoms, we all approach the same canon, but we approach it with different experiences, and we should never be scared to write our own interpretation of a story. you can read the other version [ [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26312506) ].
> 
>   * Follow me on twitter [@virdant](http://virdant.twitter.com)
>   * [Like & retweet on twitter](https://twitter.com/virdant/status/1302417506108207106)
>   * Comment and kudo below
> 


**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Dinner and an Essay](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26312506) by [virdant](https://archiveofourown.org/users/virdant/pseuds/virdant)




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